The Wild Robot is Peter Brown’s first work for middle-grade readers, and this notable picture book author and illustrator has given us a delightful story that is sure to become a classic.

A hurricane rages offshore, and somewhere at sea a vessel containing hundreds of identical crates sinks. Its cargo is mostly lost beneath the waves. A handful of crates are destroyed by waves smashing them into the rocky island cliff. One solitary crate is washed up onto the cliff’s edge so forcefully it breaks apart, and miraculously the robot inside is unharmed.

A curious gang of sea otters activates the ROZZUM unit 7134, and a robot called Roz wakes for the first time to finds herself marooned on an island.

Now, Roz must struggle to survive in this wild place. Unsurprisingly, the animals are terrified of this strange monster in their midst. They avoid her and attack her until she hides away. She certainly isn’t programmed for survival, but she is programmed to learn. Disguised as a rock, Roz observes the world around her. She sits patiently and watches tadpoles turning to frogs, mushrooms magically appearing, foxes hunting hares, ocean waves crashing against the coast. She begins to learn the languages of the creatures on the island.

By accident, Roz finds herself caring for a tiny gosling. As she becomes this little bird’s mother, she finds a place in the animal community. She must rely on older geese to help teach her how to take care of her gosling, and the beavers to build her a suitable house for the two of them. The animals on the island learn that Roz is kind and happy to help her neighbors, and a new kind of community is formed.

This peace can’t last though. Like the other animals, Roz is subject to the changing seasons. She has to find a way to endure conditions robots weren’t built for. Also, the manufacturers who created Roz are searching for every last robot they lost.

This wonderful book has everything readers could ask for — an action-packed plot as well as heartwarming characters readers won’t soon forget. While Brown does offer up a very accessible book for young readers, there are also some weighty themes such as motherhood, environmental concerns and the question of what it is to be human, making it a great book for families to share.

If you enjoy this title, be sure to check out Pax by Sara Pennypacker.